Life-buoy for submarine or submergible boats.



H. GRIESHABER. LIFE BUOY FOR SUBMARINE 0R SUBMERGIBLE BOATS APPLICATIONFILED OCT. 15, I913.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

t I l I? boat by the HUGO GRIESHABER, OF NEW LONDON,

C0NNECIICFlIlClL, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC BOAT COMPANY, OF'NEW YORK, N. Y.,A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Application filed October 15, 19 13.

To (1/! w'lzom it may mare/'11 7 Be it known that I. lluoo Gmnsnnunn, acitizen oi the l nitcd States, residing, at and whose post-olliceaddress is New London, courty of New London, and State of Connecticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Buoys forSubmarine or Submergible Boats; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

The present invention relates to man-can rying life-buoys forsubmarine'or submergible boats, and particularly to one normally held inan exterior launching pocket in the pressure of the sea in such manneras to permit the discharge of the buoy from the launching pocket at willby mechanism within the boat, or within the buoy, or in both places,said buoy having a substantially Water-tight compartment with means forthe passage of a man thereinto from the interior of the boat when thebuoy is in its place in the launching pocket, and also having means foregress therefrom when the buoy is floating at the surface of the sea. Inthe preferred construction, the buoy is provided with a float to kee) itbuoyant even when the compartment is illed With Water, and is associatedwith a drum operable from the interior of the'boat and connected to thebuoy by a flexible connection so that the buoy may be drawn back fromthe surface of the sea within the launching pocket after each member ofthe crew reaches the surface. In this way, facility is ailorded for theescape of all members of the crew, including the last man, and bymechanism which ma 1 if desired be operated by hand independent of thepower driven mechanism in the boat.

he preferred form of construction for carrying out the idea: embodied inmy in vention in application to asubmergible torpedo boat, as anexample, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1represents a section through the aunching pocket of the boat and throughand Fig. 2 reprc buoy at right anthe buoy seated therein; sents anelevation of the gles to Fig. 1.

The launching pocket 1 of substantially circular outline and having theoutwardly Specification of Letters Patent.

'in the launching Patented Apr. 27, 1915. Serial No. 795,189.

diverging end portion 2, is formed on the exterior of the boat 3 at anysuitable place, but preferably at the top thereof so that the buoy mayrise vertically from the pocket without obstruction. The circular member4 has a groumlbereled seat at5 adapted to co-act with the ground beveledseat (3 on the buoy, so that the jointiormed between their: issubstantially water-tight. 'lhe'laduchihg pocket extends below the buoyand iorn'is a substanthill y water tight space T'f'rom which the watermay be removed at will through the pipe 8 by means of a hand-operatedora: power-driven pump within the boat.

The lifesbuoy is made of suitable material as metal and comprises acon'ipartment 5) suitable for holding a man, and an air tank 10 forminga float capable of keeping' the buoy buoyant even when the compartment 9is filled with water. Thedoors 11 and '19 open outward from the top andspectlvely ofthe ,con'ipartment 9 and are fit. The conduit .13havmgthevalve 14 within the compartment 9 leads from a. place above theseat 5, 6 to a place below it, so that a man within the com 'iartmentmay admit water from the sea to the space 7. n this way, the pressure ofthe sea on the buoy may be equalized and the buoy allowed to rise to thesurface. The drum 15 is connected to the buoy by a suitable flexibleconnection 16, and it is operable from within the boat by means of thehand crank 17.

Normally the space 7 is maintaiiual free of water by pumping the waterout through is thereby subjected to the pipe 8. The buoy the pressure ofthe sea to hold it in place pocket and to maintain a substantiallywater-tight joint at 5, (i. If it now becomes necessary for the crew toleave the submerged boat, the door 18 is opened to allow a man to passthrough the compartment 7 and into the buoy through the door 12. Afterthe doors l2 and 18 are closed, the space 7 is filled with water eitherthrough the pipe 8 or 13. The pressure of the sea on the buoy becomesequalizcd soon as the. space 7 is tilled with water, and the buoy thenquickly rises to the surface of the water and floats there in an uprightposition as a result of the buoyancy of the air tank 10. The manwithin'the com 'iartment then opens the door 11 and climbs out of thebuoy, whereupon bottom" rc-I the conduit the door closes. The buoy ispulled back into its place in the pocket and the operation is repeatedfor each of the remaining members of the crew, the water first beingpumped ,out of the space 7 after each operation. this Way all themembers of the crew of the submerged boat may escape in with said seatto form therewithia closure, and to form a substantially water-tightspacein the lower portion of the pocket,

zs' m'eans operable from within the boat for removing water from saidspace to subject the buoy to the pressure of the sea and thereby forceit onto the Valve seat, means for admitting water to said space toequalize the pressure and permit the buoy to rise to the surface, andmeans for retracting the buoy from the surface into the pocket,substantially as described. I

2. Asubmarine or submergible boat having a launching pocket constitutinga guide- I way'andreceptacle for a'life-buoy, a conical valve seat insaid pocket a man-carrying life-buoy having' a member coacting with usaid said seat to form therewith a closure, and to form a substantiallywater-tight space in the lower portion of the pocket, means operablefrom within the boat for removing Water from said space to subject thebuoy to the pressureof the sea and thereby force it onto the valve seat,means operable from within the buoy for admitting water to said space toequalize the pressure and permit the buoy to rise to the surface, andmeans for retracting the buoy fromthe surface into the pocket,substantially as described.

3. The combination with a submarine or submergible boat having anexterior launching pocket, of a man-carrying life-buoy having asubstantially Water-tight compartment and adapted to seat in the pocketin such manner as to form a substantially Water-tight space therein,means aifording passage from the interior of the boat, to thecompartment, means for removing water from said space'to subject thebuoy to the pressure of the sea to hold it seated in position, avalved-conduit within the compartment adapted to admit water from thesea to space to equalize said pressure and thereby allow the buoy torise to the surface of the sea, and supplemental means operable fromwithin the boat for admitting water to said space, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

HUGO GRIESHABER.

Witnesses:

F. L. BRAKE, LEON W. ROSENTHAL.

